This Day In Wrestling History – February 19th

Share It

2007 – The WWE announced that “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig would be part of the 2007 class of the WWE Hall of Fame

2010 – TNA signed Shannon Moore

2010 – Hulk & Nick Hogan settled the lawsuit that was filed against them on behalf of John Graziano, who was seriously injured in Nick’s 2007 car crash

2012 – WWE developmental wrestler Taylor Rotunda (Bo Dallas), the son of WWE Producer Mike Rotunda, was arrested by Temple Terrace, FL police at 2:36am for drunk driving. He was given 2 breathalyzer tests and blow a .166 & a .178. Both are more than double the legal limit In Florida

Events

In 1995, WCW SuperBrawl V was held in Baltimore, Maryland. Paul Roma was fired from WCW following this event, for no-selling all of opponent Alex Wright’s moves & for attempting to kick out of the planned finish:

Also, today would have been the birthday of WWE Hall of Famer Big John Studd (66)

In Memoriam

On this day in 1968, the wrestling world lost the first recognized World Heavyweight Champion Georg Hackenschmidt at the ripe old age of 90. Born in Estonia, Hackenschmidt excelled in athletic activities from an early age. In school, it is said that he took to the gym whenever possible, building his strength to such an extent that he was able to lift 276lbs over his head with one hand. After graduating from school, he took an active interest in wrestling, moving to St Petersburg for proper training, though a stint in the army (as was compulsory in Estonia) saw his professional debut pushed back. By 1903, he had won championships and tournaments in Russia, Austria & France & had begun a tour of England, where the catch-as-catch-can style was developing. Hackenschmidt became a darling of society. His wrestling ability, good looks and intellect won him many fans and he became a celebrity of sorts in the country. In 1904, the American Champion Tom Jenkins came to England to face Hackenschmidt, & whilst the contest was closer than most of Georg’s bouts, he still won in two straight falls. Soon afterwards, Hackenschmidt left England to tour Australia & then America, where he won a rematch with Jenkins, giving him a legitimate claim to be the World Heavyweight Champion. A year later, he returned to England, but would be back in America by 1908 to take on a new challenger, Frank Gotch. Hackenschmidt was not a fan of American wrestling, and so did not put in his usual training hours. As a result, Gotch was able to quickly wear down Hackenschmidt, who conceded the fall at the two-hour mark and refused to return to the ring for the second, surrendering his World Title to Gotch. Following the match, Hackenschmidt gave conflicting statements. He 1st praised Gotch for being a great wrestler & more prepared than he was, but later claimed that he was fouled & criticized the American wrestling industry. A rematch was scheduled in Chicago in 1911, however, Hackenschmidt was injured in the build-up to the fight & though he opted to compete, lost two straight falls in under 20 minutes. This time Hackenschmidt was full of praise for Gotch, claiming that had the roles been reversed, he too would have taken advantage of the injury. Hackenschmidt had planned to continue his career, but re-injured his knee & chose to retire. From then on, Hackenschmidt led a relatively quiet life, dying peacefully at a hospital in the London suburb of Dulwich. His legacy includes the invention of the Bearhug hold & the Hack Squat weightlifting technique, as well as the popularization of the Bench Press. He also penned several books on a variety of health-based subjects.

On this day in 1992, longtime Memphis wrestler and manager Tojo Yamamoto commits suicide with a handgun at age 65. Yamamoto had been suffering from kidney problems & diabetes, which had forced him out of wrestling several months earlier. Friends said Yamamoto had become extremely depressed about his failing health

On this day in 2007, the wrestling world lost former ECW World Champion, Mike Awesome at the age of 42 due to suicide. Real name Michael Alfonso, his last match had been WWE ECW “One Night Stand” 2005. Where he suffered a knee injury in a match against long time foe Masato Tanaka. He was working in real estate at the time of his death. He was the real life cousin of Horace Hogan.

In 2014, former WWF & TNA star Nelson “Big Daddy V/King Mabel/Viscera” Frazier Jr. passed away at the age of 43. After suffering a heart attack. Frazier, who was 6-foot-8 & well over 450 pounds during the 90s, was among the largest men in the pro wrestling industry in that period. He had several tours with WWF & WWE under a variety of names. He debuted in the WWF as a member of Men On A Mission, would later go on to win the 1995 King of the Ring. In 1999 he joined the Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness. He would later appear on a few TNA PPVs, & return to the WWE on their version of ECW as Big Daddy V.